Winners and Losers of AP College Basketball Top 25 Poll in Week 17

The Kansas Jayhawks have been ranked No. 7 or better in the Associated Press Top 25 for the entire 2016-17 men's college basketball season, but it took 17 weeks for them to finally make their debut at No. 1. Barring a collapse in these final 14 days, it will be the fifth time in eight years that Kansas finishes as one of the three best teams in the AP poll.

Another Big 12 team joined Kansas in the Top 25 this week, as Iowa State returned to the rankings for the first time since mid-December. With close wins over Texas Tech and Baylor, the Cyclones were one of the biggest winners of the week.

But while the Big 12 is surging, the Big Ten is imploding. Purdue was blown out by Michigan, and Wisconsin, Maryland and Northwestern went a combined 0-6. It's difficult to recall the four highest-ranked teams in a conference having a worse week than that.

The big story of the week, though, is Gonzaga suffering its first loss of the season—despite jumping out to an 18-2 lead at home against BYU. The Zags are still one of the top teams in the country and remain in the running for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but it was a brutal finish to what had been a fantastic regular season.

Read on for the rest of this week's winners and losers of the AP poll.

Winner: UCLA Bruins

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UCLA avenged all three of its losses.

If you sold your stock in UCLA after its back-to-back losses to Arizona and USC in late January, it's beyond time to jump back on the bandwagon.

The Bruins are still a work-in-progress on defense, but it's clear they are improving. In the aforementioned losses, they allowed 180 points in 148 possessions. In the rematches with the Trojans and Wildcats, they held them to 142 points in 142 possessions.

No one is going to confuse that defensive efficiency with what Virginia or Louisville does on an annual basis, but UCLA's offense is so great that the Bruins would be 29-0 if they had limited each of their opponents to one point per possession.

As long as they're competent on defense, they can and should beat anyone.

That was evident this past week in road wins over the Arizona schools. Arizona State made 14 three-pointers and still lost by a dozen because the Bruins dominated the paint. Arizona caught fire late in the first half and went to the intermission with a 43-39 lead, but the Bruins switched to a 3-2 zone and befuddled the Wildcats en route to a 77-72 victory.

In both games, offensive rebounds were massive for UCLA. Usually lethal from three-point range, it shot a combined 15-of-49 (30.6 percent) from downtown, but it grabbed 31 offensive rebounds, while the opposition got just 44 defensive rebounds. Allowing the team that leads the nation in field-goal percentage to get back 41 percent of its own misses is anything other than a formula for success.

A testament to how strong the top of the Pac-12 is, UCLA might be ranked higher in the AP poll than it is seeded in the Pac-12 tournament. The Bruins climbed three spots to No. 3 (with three first-place votes) in the AP poll and could move up to No. 1 if Kansas loses at Oklahoma State next Saturday. But unless Arizona loses to Arizona State, the Bruins will be the No. 3 seed in the Pac-12 tourney.

Loser: Big Ten

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Does anyone in the Big Ten want to compete in the 2017 NCAA tournament?

At this point in the season, there's normally at least one Big Ten team emerging as a candidate to win the national championship.

In the final AP poll of February 2016, Michigan State was No. 2, and a total of five Big Ten teams were ranked in the Top 16. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015, the Big Ten had No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. And in 2014, when the league didn't get a No. 1 seed, it did get a pair of No. 2 seeds and a No. 4 seed.

This year, the Big Ten would be lucky if any team received a top-four seed.

Purdue was starting to look like a potential No. 4 seed prior to this week, but needing overtime to beat Penn State and then losing by a dozen to Michigan were sobering reminders that no team in this conference can be counted on to win games. The Boilermakers remain the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, but they dropped two spots to No. 16.

Former No. 16 Wisconsin was blown out by Ohio State. The final margin was only 10 points, but the Badgers trailed the Buckeyes by 20 in the final four minutes. They doubled down on that loss with another one at Michigan State Sunday afternoon. The Badgers have now lost four of their last five games and are doing one heck of an impression of 2015-16 Iowa by crashing and burning in February. Wisconsin plummeted six spots to No. 22.

But Maryland takes the cake of disappointment among the Big Ten's (former) ranked teams. Playing at home against Minnesota and Iowa, the Terrapins were shredded by 14-point margins in both games. This team lives and dies with Melo Trimble, and he shot a combined 2-of-15 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Iowa shot 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) as a team against the Terps. They entered the week at No. 24, but they are no longer anywhere near the Top 25.

Let's not forget about Northwestern, though. The Wildcats were ranked second among the others receiving votes last Monday, but they responded with losses at Illinois and Indiana. They led the Hoosiers by seven in the final 80 seconds before suffering their fifth loss in seven games. Northwestern can forget about the AP Top 25 and had better start worrying about finally ending that eternal NCAA tournament drought.

Minnesota, Michigan and Michigan State have been playing well lately, but the four Big Ten teams that were in the Top 27 of last week's AP poll went a combined 1-7 in the last seven days.

Winner: Iowa State Cyclones

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It's the year of the point guard in college basketball, so it's a good thing Monte Morris is back in the AP Top 25.

Prior to Saturday night, the closest any team had come to defeating Gonzaga was Iowa State. Way back in late November—so long ago that Indiana was then ranked No. 3 in the country—the Cyclones were held scoreless for the final three minutes of a 73-71 loss to the Bulldogs.

It seems fitting, then, that Iowa State reappeared in the AP Top 25 for the first time in nearly three months in the same week that Gonzaga lost its grip on the No. 1 spot.

Following a pair of one-possession wins over Texas Tech and Baylor, the Cyclones have now won five in a row and are tied with West Virginia for second place in the Big 12. They were squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble after an early-February loss to Texas, but this run has made them a stone-cold lock for the Big Dance.

Predominantly a four-guard lineup, the Cyclones have been one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country all season long. Thus far in February, though, they have been sizzling. They shot 50.0 percent from beyond the arc against the Red Raiders and 53.3 percent against Baylor. On average this month, they're making 11.1 triples on 23.4 attempts for a three-point percentage of 47.6.

For most of the month, Naz Mitrou-Long has been the primary long-range assassin. He was 6-of-13 this week, which actually dropped his February percentage to 49.2. But Monte Morris was the story of the past two games, draining 5-of-8 from downtown with 13 assists against just two turnovers.

Coming into this season, we weren't sure what to make of Iowa State or Oklahoma. Both schools were getting back efficient senior point guards and not much else. If either was going to succeed this year, said point guard needed to be a star. And even in a conference with studs like Frank Mason III, Jawun Evans and Johnathan Motley, one could easily make the argument that no Big 12 player has been better or more important to his team's cause than Morris has been for the Cyclones.

For crying out loud, the guy has 52 assists and four turnovers in February. If veteran point guard play means anything in March, watch out for Iowa State. But maybe now that the AP voters have the Cyclones at No. 24, they won't be sneaking up on anyone.

Loser: Gonzaga Bulldogs

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The mighty Zags have fallen.

For the first 45.5 minutes of Gonzaga's week, it was business as usual.

The Bulldogs obliterated San Diego by a score of 96-38, improving to 29-0 with their 21st consecutive win by a double-digit margin. And after jumping out to an 18-2 lead at home against BYU, they appeared to be well on their way to a 30-0 regular season.

But for some inexplicable reason, they just stopped giving the ball to Przemek Karnowski.

The fifth-year senior and real-life version of Paul Bunyan had six points, two rebounds and an assist during that hot start. In a word, he was unstoppable. Yet he attempted just one shot over the course of the next 26 minutes of game time. Meanwhile, BYU's big man, Eric Mika, got the ball over and over again, racking up 29 points and 11 rebounds as the Cougars fought all the way back for the 79-71 upset.

Maybe this is for the best for Gonzaga. I don't subscribe to the bogus theory that a team is better off taking a loss before the tournament than dealing with the pressure of trying to go undefeated, but it's about time the Zags were at least challenged in a game.

Midway through the first half, BYU went on an 11-1 run in the blink of an eye. Fueled by three consecutive TJ Haws three-pointers, a 14-point blowout turned into a four-point game in less than two minutes. And Gonzaga couldn't seem to process what was happening.

For the past 11 weeks, teams have more or less just rolled over and died at the feet of Gonzaga's greatness. But BYU—which trailed by as many as 19 in the first meeting before making things interesting in the final few minutes—refused to go quietly into the night. The Cougars took Gonzaga's early haymakers and responded back with a bunch of their own.

Gonzaga's doubters are rejoicing with their "I told you so" choruses, but the believers look at this result with wry smiles, hoping this will serve as the wake-up call to prevent a similar outcome early in the NCAA tournament. Whether the Zags are still worthy of a No. 1 seed remains to be seen, but they will enter the WCC tournament ranked No. 4 in the AP poll.

Winner: Butler Bulldogs

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Kelan Martin was a road warrior this week.

Butler has quietly put together one of the best NCAA tournament resumes in the nation.

Following road wins over Villanova and Xavier this week, the Bulldogs are tied with Villanova for the national lead in RPI Top 50 wins (10) and tied with Kansas for the national lead in RPI Top 100 wins (17). Were it not for a couple of bad losses to Indiana State and St. John's, Butler would be in the running for the No. 1 overall seed. As it is, most bracketologists have this team projected as a No. 3 seed.

And for the first time in more than a month, Butler's spot in the AP poll more or less matches up with where it will be seeded on Selection Sunday. The Bulldogs had been hovering in the 20s for the past three weeks, but they have skyrocketed to No. 13 in advance of their regular-season finale against Seton Hall.

The scary thing about this team is that Kelan Martin is just now heating up.

Through his first 26 games, Martin's best offensive rating was a 128 in a December win over Cincinnati. But he has put up 134, 139 and 140 in that category in his last three outings. Martin had 47 points on just 26 field-goal attempts against the Wildcats and Musketeers and grabbed a combined 15 rebounds for good measure.

Freshman Kamar Baldwin also had a great week. After failing to score more than eight points in any of his first four games in February, he averaged 16.0 points per game and tied a career high with five steals in the win over Xavier.

When that duo is efficiently converting from inside the arc, Butler looks like a team that could reach the national championship game for the third time this decade.

Loser: Creighton Bluejays

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Creighton hasn't been the same since losing Maurice Watson Jr.

Right when Maurice Watson Jr.'s diagnosis of a torn ACL was announced, the first player/situation that came to mind was former VCU star Briante Weber. When Weber's season ended due to a knee injury, VCU was 17-3 and somewhere on the fringe of the conversation for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. But after losing its senior point guard, it went 4-6 in its next 10 games and was eventually bounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Following losses to Providence and Villanova this week, Creighton is—you guessed it—4-6 in its last 10 games. (And half of those wins came against DePaul.)

Marcus Foster had a great week as the leading scorer in both games. Khyri Thomas also put forth a pair of fine efforts. But the three guys tasked with replacing Watson (Davion Mintz, Isaiah Zierden and Tyler Clement) scored a combined zero points in 95 minutes of action against the Friars and Wildcats.

Moreover, star big man Justin Patton had the worst game of his career against Villanova, finishing with four points, five rebounds and six turnovers while "helping" allow the Wildcats to make 69.4 percent of their two-point attempts.

Creighton could still be a major problem in the NCAA tournament. Despite recent struggles, the resume remains strong enough for the Bluejays to earn a single-digit seed, at which point they could shoot their way to a win or two. After all, they have drained 47.5 percent of their three-point attempts over the last seven games.

But as far as the AP Top 25 is concerned, Creighton was already on borrowed time after four straight weeks of hovering in the 20s. Now well outside the Top 25, the Bluejays are kind of the polar opposite to Wichita State. While the Shockers finally got into the Top 25 for the final week of their regular season, Creighton will enter its final two games as an unranked team for the first time all year.

Winner: Cincinnati Bearcats

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Cincinnati's offense neglected to make the trip to Central Florida.

After Thursday's 13-point win over Memphis, Cincinnati improved to 23-2 in its last 25 games, with the two losses coming at Butler and at SMU—missed opportunities but acceptable results on the road against teams ranked in the AP Top 15.

Given Gonzaga's loss to BYU on Saturday night and the fact that no major-conference team has fewer than two conference losses, there was a strong case to be made Sunday morning that Cincinnati was the hottest team in the country.

Then the Bearcats went out and scored 49 points in a loss to UCF.

UCF is having arguably its best season in program history, but by a wide margin, that's still Cincinnati's worst loss of the year. The Bearcats defended well, holding the Knights to 0.88 points per possession, but they could not figure out how to score against 7'6" Tacko Fall. They finished the game shooting just 9-of-30 (30.0 percent) from inside the arc and weren't any better from three-point range (29.2 percent).

Despite those poor numbers, they had a chance to at least send the game into overtime. However, Tre Scott—a freshman who only played two minutes—was unable to convert what would have been the game-tying alley-oop dunk with five seconds remaining.

Kyle Washington and Troy Caupain have been the veteran leaders for this team for most of the year, but the inside-outside duo shot a combined 4-of-24 from the field in a loss that could have sent Cincinnati spiraling down the AP poll.

But the AP voters were apparently OK with this result, only moving the Bearcats down three spots to No. 18—despite inexplicably dropping them seven spots after the previous road loss to SMU.

Loser: Duke Blue Devils

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Jayson Tatum wasn't able to carry the Blue Devils this week.

Duke's seven-game winning streak came to an emphatic halt with back-to-back losses to Syracuse and Miami this week.

Though it felt like Duke was reasserting itself as the team to beat in March, neither loss was too surprising. Both games were played on the road against bubble teams in desperate need of quality wins. Syracuse has been almost unbeatable in the Carrier Dome in ACC play, and Grayson Allen (ankle injury) did not play in the loss to Miami. Both games were nail-biters, but the Blue Devils twice ended up on the wrong side of the equation.

Still, we're talking about an 0-2 record against teams that weren't ranked. That's supposed to come with a stiff penalty, and Duke fell seven spots to No. 17.

For some reason, the Blue Devils always manage to have their worst weeks when the teams behind them are suffering losses, too. With Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 in last week's poll each suffering at least one loss, it appeared Duke could be set up to only drop a couple of spots. But it wasn't meant to be.

Not only were the Blue Devils losers in the AP poll, but the preseason favorites to win the national championship are also now tied for fifth place in the ACC standings with games remaining against Florida State and North Carolina. If Duke loses both of those games while a few dominoes fall in the right/wrong direction around the league, it's still possible this team ends up with the No. 9 seed in the ACC tournament.

Stats are courtesy of KenPom.com and Sports-Reference.com.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.